Permanent Record Podcast: In Conversation with Kurt Larson of Information Society

In Conversation with Kurt Larson of Information Society

Mar 7, 2022

Episode 141: In Conversation with Kurt Larson of Information Society

Many people these days talk about having a yearly "bingo card" and in particular, what events they didn't have on their cards. Well, Brian and Sarah definitely didn't have "talking with the lead singer of Information Society" on their 2022 bingo card-- or any other year's card, for that matter! But it has, in fact, happened, and both Brian and Sarah are absolutely thrilled to bring you this special episode!

Our hosts talked about Information Society's 1988 self-titled album over the course of two episodes back in July 2018. In this episode, they get to talk with Kurt himself about the making of the album, its release and reception, the music videos, and even get some answers to questions they posed aloud way back then.

However, the conversation covers a great deal more than just that album. Kurt tells stories ranging from the band's very early days all the way up to the recording and release of their latest album, 2021's ODDfellows.

And as cool as all of that sounds, there's even more to learn, as Brian and Sarah discovered from talking with Kurt. He explained the origins of digital sampling, the history of remixing, what record pools are, and what Spatial Audio is. Kurt also shares his thoughts on Cleopatra Records as well as answering the question of whether streaming services ended the Loudness Wars. And there are plenty of non-music topics discussed as well! The three of them talk about work habits during lockdown, and Kurt shares stories about playing the first video games as well as the time he met Leonard Nimoy! (You knew there had to be Star Trek talk in here somewhere!)

And, due to Brian putting his foot in his mouth by talking trash about 1970's muscle cars, Kurt shared a number of photos of the Plymouth he altered to look like a car from "Mad Max," which then featured in the 1990 video for "Think."

Below is an advertisement for a car similar to Kurt's (or at least how Kurt's started off looking). He tells the story of what he did to alter the car and how the one in the ad below is for a 1971 model, but Kurt's car is from model year 1973.

Here's another picture of Kurt's highly customized Plymouth Sebring:

The picture below elicits a rather shocked response from Brian and Sarah during the episode, as Kurt shows how close the film's promotional poster is to the photo he took back in 1990.

It should be obvious by now that this episode is overflowing with entertaining and insightful conversation-- so what are you waiting for-- start listening immediately! And then check out the links below!

Information Society links:

Bandcamp: https://informationsociety.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InSoc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/informationsociety
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/informationsociety_official/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqBYUnU_4yqqJpkUTpVASAA